Statues and Silence
by greatestdownfall
Summary: Klaus finally pulled away from her, mouth dripping from her own blood. "See you soon love." His hands quickly transferred to her neck. She felt the initial tug, and the world went black.


**Author Notes:** I am proud to say that this is my first _Vampire Diaries_ fanfiction! This story begins in the school gym, when we first met Niklaus and he wants Elena killed. I hope you enjoy this story and please review if you feel so inclined – I love reading your thoughts and opinions of how the story is going! Thanks so much!

Proper characters are copyrighted to their respectful owners!

It had been a long, long, damn day.

Caroline Forbes yawned as she slapped down her signal for the last turn towards her house. She couldn't wait to sidle up the stairs and sink into a steaming hot bath, and she could feel her muscles responding to the idea already. After school and her long day at decorating the gym for Spring Fling, she was ready for some pampering.

Her hand reached over into the passenger seat for her bag but caught nothing but air. She turned to the seat and groaned. She must've left it in the gym. _Better go back and get it before the janitor comes in and steals everything I own._ Grumbling in annoyance, she backed the car up and headed back down the street towards Robert E. Lee High School.

The air still had remnants of winter ad Caroline shivered as she slipped into her jacket and hurried to the gym doors. It took a little bit of a tug but she managed to get it open froze. Elena, Stefan, Damon, and someone she didn't recognize were all standing close to each other. The unknown man was smirking and Elena looked terrified.

"Elena?" She asked tentatively.

Stefan hurried over to her and grabbed her forearms. "Caroline, you need to get out of here – now."

"So I see you've brought me a late night snack!" The man had a thick accent as he laughed and came over so fast, Caroline blinked and thought she was dreaming. His dark blue eyes penetrated her and she shivered, looking nervously from Stefan to this new man.

"What's going on?" She asked, panicked.

"She doesn't need to get hurt – she's going to go home and this never happened." Stefan looked into Caroline's eyes. The man grabbed her from Stefan and smirked. "Nonsense mate. My name is Niklaus Mikaelson. You though love, can call me Klaus."

Tears filled Caroline's eyes as she looked into Klaus's face. "What's going on? Elena!"

"Your friend is kind of...unavailable right now."

Caroline wrenched her head over to see Elena laying on the ground, unconscious. A thick, red liquid was seeping from her head. "Oh my God!" Caroline struggled in Klaus's grip. "Is that blood?! Elena! Elena!"

"She doesn't need to be killed Klaus!" Stefan warned. Klaus easily shook him off and smiled sinisterly at Caroline.

"She doesn't need to be killed, but she's so pretty...and smells so good." His head bent towards her neck and Caroline tensed, breathing hard. Klaus exhaled, his breath hot on her neck and Caroline's fear heightened. She struggled against his grip, tried kicking, screaming, but nothing loosened his hold on her.

"You're right Stefan. There's no need to _kill_ her."

She didn't even have room to fight as Klaus sank his teeth into her neck. Pain shot through her as she felt the pull from his drinking her blood. She screamed and fought against him She could hear Stefan's shouts as she closed her eyes, feeling weaker by the second.

Klaus finally pulled away from her, mouth dripping in her own blood. "See you soon."

His hands quickly transferred to her neck. She felt the initial tug, and the world went black.

A bright red haze surrounded her. Her body was on fire, everything was tingling.

Suddenly she was moving. There was a pinprick of white light and she was being rushed towards it. Gasping, she opened her eye and sat up. Everything was brighter; like she was looking at the world through high definition. She could see the tiny ridges in each other leaves outside, feel the breeze on every pore of her body.

"Caroline!" Elena gasped and came over to her.

Caroline turned in bed to face Elena and her scent stopped her like a brick wall. She smelled intoxicating, Caroline could hear the blood pulsating through Elena's veins. A sharp pain in her mouth made Caroline pause and cry out. She brought her hand up to her mouth and felt sharp pointy teeth on either side of her incisors.

"Elena." Stefan appeared in the doorway, taking Elena's hand and pulling her away from Caroline. "Go downstairs. Now. She's in transition and it's too dangerous to be around her right now."

Elena took one last look at Caroline and nodded, then disappeared down the stairs.

"What's going on?" Caroline asked thickly, tears filling her eyes. Why was she dangerous? What did he mean that she was in 'transition'? "What happened? Where did that man go?"

Stefan's expression was meek. "Caroline...Klaus bit you."

Caroline pulled her knees to her chest and nodded. "I know. It was totally weird...what does transition mean? Why can't I be around Elena?"

Stefan scooted closer to her on the bed. "Caroline," he repeated, looking in her eyes with a grave expression. "Klaus. He _bit_ you." He tried to give as much knowledge to her in that one look as he could, and hoped it didn't break her heart too much.

Caroline stared at him for a minute and visibly wilted into the mattress. "No."

"I'm so sorry Caroline." Stefan said softly, squeezing her hand. "If there was anything I could've done, you know I would've."

"Why didn't you?!" Caroline shouted, feeling incredibly betrayed. "I was your friend too! I suppose since Elena was on the floor in a heap nothing else mattered right? Just let stupid old Caroline turn into a vampire or die as long as Elena is safe!"

"That's not it at all!" Stefan shook his head. "Klaus...he's a different kind of vampire Caroline. He's an Original. One of the first vampires of all time. He's virtually indestructible. There was nothing I could've done to defeat him. I swear I would've if I could."

Caroline felt like her head was going to explode. She sank back into the pillows and closed her eyes, trying to quiet the constant noise from outside her window. It seemed so interesting when she first woke up, but now, knowing what she was to become, it was like a curse.

"You have a choice to make Caroline." Stefan's soft voice pulled her out of her reverie. "You don't have to turn into a vampire."

The word made her wince.

He took her hand again and squeezed it. "You have the choice if you want to complete the transition. If you don't feed on blood for the next twenty four hours, you'll die."

"I'm already dead." She said in a flat voice.

Stefan decided to ignore her comment. "If you do decide to feed, then well...I don't think I need to lay it out for you."

"I don't want to be a monster." She whispered, pulling her knees closer to her chest. "No offense. It's just not me."

"None taken." He offered her a small smile.

"I want to tell Elena." Caroline sat up in bed and squared her shoulders decisively.

Stefan nodded and went downstairs, appearing a few moments later with Elena in tow. "Sty close." Caroline told Stefan. "Just...in case?"

He nodded and smiled softly, closing the door behind him.

"Caroline, before you say anything-"

"Elena..." Caroline sighed and shook her head.

"No." Elena's voice was hard and stronger than she'd ever heard before. "I need you to hear this. Just...please listen to me." Elena sat on the bed and picked at a spot on her jeans. "I just wanted to apologize. This is all my fault. If I hadn't..." Tears filled her eyes and she swallowed back the lump in her throat.

"What are you going to apologize for, Elena? Being born? None of this is your fault. We had no idea this was going to happen. No one would've predicted this would be the outcome of our lives." She took a deep breath. "Which is why I'm choosing to end mine, Elena"

Elena's eyes widened. "What? No! You can't!"

"The other option hurts more than the idea of my death. Stefan told me I had a choice. This is the one I'm making for myself. Not for you, or my parents, not for anyone else, just me. I need to do this. I know you can't blame me for this Elena...I know deep down you feel the same way."

Elena's dark hair covered her eyes and she nodded. "I'm just going to miss you. Who am I going to talk about boys with? Or what to ear for the Winter Formal? Or prom?"

Caroline tried to ignore how sad and lost Elena looked, and how much she too would miss her and her old life. She'd give anything to go back last night, to forget about her purse and just go home to the safety of her house. She needed to be the strong one now, to show Elena that this was the right choice and to prove she'd be okay.

"You're going to survive this." Caroline smiled and gently moved the hair away from Elena's face. A whiff of her scent carried into Caroline's space, sending her into a tailspin. Her eyes darkened and the thin skin beneath them felt hard and rigid.

Stefan entered the room and snatched Caroline by the shoulders before she had a chance to sink her teeth into Elena's wrist. "Let go of me!" She screamed, scratching and clawing her way out of Stefan's grasp. "I'm so hungry!"

"This isn't you Caroline, remember?" Stefan ground out, trying to keep his hold on her. He managed to push her into the wall and stared into her eyes. "Elena is your friend Caroline! You don't want to hurt her. Swallow it back – ignore the urge. Take a deep breath and let it out. That's it...don't focus on Elena, focus on me. There...better."

The tension in Caroline's eyes finally released and she closed them, jaw quivering. "This is why you can't be sad or blame yourself Elena." She choked out. "We can't be friends if I constantly want to kill you. It isn't fair to you or me."

Stefan bit his lip and felt just as pained as she sounded. "We had Bonnie make you this, Caroline. Whatever your decision is, it will help you until you finally make it." He dug into his pocket and pulled out a small ring with a dark stone in the center. "This is a special ring, protected by witchcraft." He continued. "It allows us to walk around in daylight. Your skin will burn off if you step out in direct sunlight without it on."

She tok it from his open palm and slipped it on her finger. "Thank you." She whispered, voice cracking. "I need to go. I...I can't be here anymore." She gave Elena a knowing look, then disappeared quickly out the window.

Just the sheer speed of her new identity was incredible. She felt like she was the only thing in the world moving while the rest of the world was in a perpetual state of pause. She couldn't help smiling as she raced by the high school, past The Grill, past her old house. She stopped then, backtracking until she was back on her own porch. What would her mother say? How was she going to explain this to her? Caroline knew she couldn't anyway, there was no way she could trust herself around humans anymore.

She hurried away before she got too emotional. She continued on her path and ended up in the front of an unfamiliar house. Frowning, she examined the front of the home and felt herself walking towards the front door. Lifting a heavy hand, she lifted the bronze knocker and waited,

A few moments later, the door opened and Klaus appeared in the doorway. He smiled broadly at the sighed of her. "Well hello love," his smile was absolutely terrifying. "I've been waiting for ages."

Caroline's eyes widened with recognition and fear. She moved to run but Klaus's grip was iron clad on her forearm. He looked deeply into her eyes. "That's really not a good idea sweetheart." He said almost soothingly. "You don't want to run away from me. You want to come in to the house for a drink."

His eyes met hers and she stopped struggling. She wanted to fight him but for some reason she didn't feel a point. She _wanted_ to come in. Klaus smiled again, and Caroline could sense his pleasure. "That's better, isn't it? Things are going to work a lot easier if you don't fight me, Caroline. No one fights me." He murmured, breath hot on her neck.

She closed her eyes and exhaled, her hips slightly parted. "I...I don't want this." She opened her eyes again, realizing the slipper slope she was headed down and pulled away from him. "You can't make me into one of your playthings. I won't do it. I'm too smart for you an your stupid little mind games."

Klaus simply looked amused. "I see you've spoken to my old friend Stefan, Well, let me tell you something my dear." He leaned in close to her again. "As much as he wants you to believe him, you don't have a choice."

Klaus brought his wrist to his lips and shoved it into Caroline's mouth. She screamed once more and fought her way against him. "You may come in, by the way." He murmured as he drug her through the large iron door and closed it with his foot.

She wanted to fight, wanted to at least give herself the benefit of the doubt that she could beat him, but as his blood hit her tongue, she couldn't stop herself. He tasted better than anything she'd ever had before. Vivid colors appeared before her eyes as she downed swallow by swallow.

"That's enough love," he pulled her off and smirked, clearly amused. "I knew you'd see it my way. Now, we have some business to attend to." He picked up a small whiskey glass and downed the rest of the amber liquid. "You see, I didn't just choose you because you're beautiful. I chose you because I knew you'd be useful to me. You have proven ell thus far by showing up on my doorstep. I knew you would eventually. Your friend Elena is in possession of something I want. A weapon, or sorts."

"Weapon?" Caroline frowned, looking around the house. "What could Elena have that you want so badly?"

"That is for me to know and you to get for me." He replied simply. "First however, I need to make sure you will remain loyal to me. There seems to be a huge shortage of good help these days." He sighed dramatically, snapping his fingers and another girl walked into the room.

Caroline recognized her as a cheerleader from school. "What are you doing with her? Let her go!"

"Tou-chy." Klaus clucked his tongue in disapproval. "I bring you a beautiful and wiling snack and all you do is complain? You know love, that isn't a very good set of manners you have there." He bent to look into her eyes. "I want you to feed on her. Then, you are to kill her."

She felt her body begin to move towards the girl. Her eyes darted between Klaus and her. The smell of her blood was like a magnetic force, drawing her in. She located the main artery in her neck and fixed herself on it, watching it move faster with the sharpness in her breath. She tried to ignore Klaus's constant ebbing in her mind but eventually deemed it unsuccessful.

Caroline swallowed hard and leaned in. "I'm so sorry." She whispered into the frightened girl's ear.

With a quick rush of air, she latched herself onto the girls neck and drank deeply. The girl struggled at first, but then went still. Caroline could feel the stinging in her eyes and the familiar hardening of the skin around them. She exhaled and released the girl. Her body fell into a heap at her feet.

Panting, Caroline turned back to Klaus and found him smiling broadly. "You sure are beautiful when you do that, love." He came over and brushed her hair away from her eyes. "Being a killer suits you."

Caroline wiped her mouth and stared into Klaus' eyes, not realizing how blue they were. The pull to be around him was stronger than anything she'd felt before. She didn't understand why it was happening but she didn't want it to stop.

"You'll be living here now." Klaus stared into her eyes. "There's no need to see your mother or friends anymore. They are the enemy."

"Enemy?" Caroline tried to fight through the confusion that clouded her head like fog.

"Exactly." Klaus smiled broadly. "Now, you have proven your loyalty to me, and now we have some business to attend to. If you'll follow me into the office, we can get started."

She couldn't help but follow.


End file.
